The Istanbul Convention in the constitutional jurisprudence of Central and Eastern European states

ENThe Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, is a key instrument in recognising violence against women as a human rights violation rooted in unequal gender relations. However, in a large number of Central and Eastern European states, the Convention’s ratification process has been accompanied by strong internal resistance, and some countries are even planning to withdraw from the Convention. Doubts have been raised about the Convention’s compatibility with the national constitutions of these states so that, in recent years, several constitutional courts in the region have examined the issues related to the constitutionality of the Istanbul Convention. This chapter aims to provide a detailed analysis of these constitutional justice cases and to identify the reasons the constitutional courts have taken different approaches to the constitutionality of this international treaty. To achieve this, the chapter seeks (i) to discuss the purpose, achievements, and challenges of the Istanbul Convention; (ii) to analyse the role of the constitutional justice institutions in ensuring the protection of human rights in the states of the region and the powers of these institutions to review the constitutionality of international treaties; and (iii) to overview the constitutional justice cases regarding the constitutionality of the Istanbul Convention and related issues. [Publisher annotation]